10 Horror Movies You Expected To Suck (But Were Totally Awesome)

It's common knowledge one should never judge a book by its cover, but when all signs are indicating a movie is going to suck, there's a very strong chance it's going to suck.

This principle is more applicable with horror, since the bad far outweighs the good when it comes to slashers, zombie flicks, and sci-fi B-movies. If the movie in question has a terrible director, a chaotic production, or centres around an evil leprechaun in space, the end result is probably not going to be Citizen Kane, is it?

That's why it's a welcome surprise when a horror feature that sounds like total crap knocks it out of the park. Instead of being a pointless prequel, Ouija: Origin of Evil was everything its predecessor should've been. There are so many terrible Krampus adaptations, it's a shock to the system when one of them is half-decent. Considering Ready or Not revolves a lethal game of hide-and-seek, it's astounding how well it turned out.

Because the films on this list kicked off franchises, reinvigorated forgotten properties, and created brand new horror icons, it's hard to believe anyone doubted them in the first place.

Even though Child's Play was a tongue-in-cheek slasher, the series quickly devolved into a cringey self-parody. By the time of the fifth instalment, Seed of Chucky was released, it was clear the maniacal toy had become a joke.

After lying dormant for nearly a decade, Don Mancini got to work on a supposed reboot called Curse of Chucky. Since Mancini was the same director behind Seed of Chucky, this follow-up didn't fill fans with an ounce of confidence. Being the first straight-to-DVD entry in the franchise, expectations for Curse reached a new low.

Amazingly, the killer doll's sixth outing got everything right. Going back to its roots, Curse of Chucky focuses on atmosphere, building tension, and subtle scares, rather than gimmicky violence and one-liners.

The film also delves into Charles Lee Ray's life, giving insight into the ruthless serial killer before he was transformed into a Good Guy doll. Because Brad Dourif has been voicing Chucky since the 1980s, it's nice to see him play the role physically for a change.

Multiple Child's Play projects have been developed since, but none have been as clever, thrilling, or scary as Curse of Chucky.